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Posts tagged The Hunger Games
Review: Mockingjay
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Thus ends my time spent in the world of The Hunger Games. The final book in the trilogy is good, but it’s not (IMO) great. The first one was really riveting. The second one gave us a lot of character insight. This one wrapped up the story… but it just didn’t feel as impactful as the first two. Even the death (SPOILER! Someone dies) in this book didn’t hit me as hard as the one in the first book. It should have – but it just didn’t.
I guess I would enjoy the book more if it had more to do with triumph and success than “just surviving.”
Am I still looking forward to the movies? Sure. Something tells me, though, that Hollywood will morph this book significantly more than the first two by the time it gets to theaters.
Time will tell.
Review: Catching Fire
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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Running Man with a Teenage Girl Part 2
That’s an easy comparison to draw, but the truth is that The Hunger Games Trilogy is (at least in my eyes) living up to the hype as it’s own entity. It’s well thought out, solidly written and the characters are very engaging.
Regarding the characters: I like Peeta… which means (in the end) he will probably get the shaft. I’m reading the third book now and I can already see it coming: nice guy, hopelessly in love, does everything to protect/save the girl. That can mean only one thing in the end. (Just ask any of those “Team Jacob” girls.)
Girly melodrama aside, the science fiction aspect of this book is great. It’s entertaining post-apocalyptic action and I hope the movie(s?) live up to the storytelling.
Now please excuse me, but I have a third book to finish. 
Review: The Hunger Games
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am so confused by the modern definition of “young adult.” Growing up, I always read books that were allegedly ahead of my maturity level (READ: I finished all of Vonnegut’s works before I was 14 years old.) As a result, I assumed that books we were offered to read at the correct age level were supposed to be safe from disturbing things like, oh, teenagers stabbing each other with spears in a post-apocalyptic future for the entertainment of others.
Living in states (Tennessee and Georgia) that still enjoyed banning books didn’t help much, either.
Today, though, it seems that [SPOILER ALERT] teenage guys killing twelve year old girls is fair game for kid’s reading. Who knew?
The Hunger Games is a clever mix of other familiar stories to me: one part Twilight (one girl who might be in love with two boys); one part The Running Man (futuristic gladiator sport for television entertainment); one part Robin Hood (character with great bow and arrow skills helping feed the poor.)
Is it good? Yes. The problem(?) is that it is good for a very disturbing reason: you can’t stop reading because you are constantly worried about who is going to die. Even more disturbing? You find yourself rooting for a sixteen year old girl to slaughter other teenagers.
Yet it is so much fun.
The Hunger Games has my attention. As I write this, I am already 1/3 through the next book and it’s keeping my interest. Suzanne Collins has a very keen insight into how to convey the point of view of a teenage girl while letting on to the reader the elements that she (the teenage girl’s) is missing out on: the feelings of those around her; their reason for acting certain ways; etc.
ADDED NOTE: Yes, I have heard about the movie. The cast I have read about (and thoughts):
-Jennifer Lawrence… sure, as long as she’s not as chubby as she was in X-Men: First Class
-Elizabeth Banks… for some reason, I pictured her character as older.
-Woody Harrelson… flawless choice. He’s perfect.
-Donald Sutherland… another good choice. He’s a solid evil intellectual (political) type.
-Lenny Kravitz… NOT who I pictured, but he’s so odd that I can see it working.
